Journey to Nagaland, Assam and Mizoram

Travelogue :

My journey in enchanting Nagaland, Assam and Mizoram

By Mr. Sunil Goel

(www.sunilgoel.blogspot.com)

I have always been fascinated by the countryside, mountains and greenery. This is perhaps the reason why I am trekking since 1991. The constraints of time, given the profession I am in (I am a practicing lawyer and legal consultant in corporate and financial matters) do not let me go on treks and excursions quite often though I love to travel and explore new areas. After every few months, the city’s chaos and mad race for competition and success gets so sickening that I feel as if the mountains are calling me to sooth my nerves and to rejuvenate me once again to face the challenges of life. Every trek and excursion, I feel, charges me for another few months.

This time I planned to go to a totally new area of our country, that is North East. This region is comparatively less known and not much tourist infrastructure is there. This region, unfortunately, somehow has been the victim of Government’s apathy and neglect. I wanted to see how the people live there and able to manage their day to day lives. I also wanted to meander through the hills and mountains in said area.

Ms. Manomayee Purohit (with whom I did excursion trip of Leh Ladakh in 2006) planned a programme comprising travelling through Nagaland, Assam and then integrate this with trekking in Mizoram. The Trek in Mizoram was organized by Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI). It was supposed to be a National trek. Myself, Amit Burman, Vanita ji (with whom I have done many treks / excursions), her friend Mythili Iyer and Mythili’s brother and sister-in-law Kailas and Sudha joined in. We were thus 7 people. However, some of us made slight changes in the prog due to our individual constraints. The programme comprised starting from Delhi on 22^nd October 2011. However, the festival of Diwali fell on 26^th October and I wanted to celebrate this with my family at home. There were other festivals also around that time. After analyzing the itinerary prepared by Manomayee, I selected 30^th October 2011 as my travel date from Delhi as on/around that day I could catch up with them in Dimapur in Nagaland. Kailas and Sudha, who are juvenile diabetics (but they are wonderful people and I admire the way they have conquered their situation to lead happy life), were not to join us further in the Mizoram trek after Nagaland and Assam excursion.

We all had booked our air tickets 3-4 months prior to the journey. On 22^nd October 2011 (Saturday), I with my son Himanshu in my Hyundai Verna Fluidic reached New Delhi airport (Terminal 1D) and see off the other 6 members viz. Manomayee, Amit Burman, Vanita ji, Mythili Iyer, Kailas and Sudha, with promise to catch them after a week on 30^th October. It was my first meeting with Amit, Mythili, Kailas, Sudha. They took the flight to Gauhati (capital of State of Assam). There they hired a taxi (Tata Suma Victa) for 10 days. The taxi agency charged Rs.2000/- per day plus cost of diesel plus Rs.300/- per day for the driver. The driver’s name was Chandan (09402927260) who was a young smart energetic boy of around 28 years. They travelled to Jorhat, Majuli (both in Assam) and then places in State of Nagaland viz. Mokokchung, Wokha, Kohima, Touphama, Khanoma, Dimapur. 

I was told that prepaid mobile phones and those of companies other than BSNL are not working in Nagaland and Mizoram. For this reason, I purchased a new connection from MTNL (which converts into BSNL outside Delhi) and did not carry my routine BLACKBERRY phone which was a Airtel prepaid connection. However, while in Nagaland and Mizoram, I found that  prepaid phones were working there and the phones of companies other than BSNL were also working. I had obtained Inner Line Permit, a few days on advance, from the office of Deputy Resident Commissioner at Nagaland House, in New Delhi which we were told, is required for visiting Nagaland, though I discovered later that we hardly need it in Nagaland.

NAGALAND

30^th October 2011 Sunday

On 30^th October Sunday, I started from my home at 4.50 am in early morning. It was all dark. The weather was pleasant which is peculiar to October end in Delhi. I preferred to wear full sleeve T-shirt with Jeans to avoid exposure to morning breeze as my throat had just recovered. At about 5.20 am, I reached the New Delhi Airport (Terminal 1D). I reached the checking in counter just in time. The departure time was 6.15 am and the counters closes 45 minutes prior to that. Got issued Boarding pass. Boarded Indigo airlines flight 6E-273 to Kolkata. The darkness gradually gave way to dawn and improved visibility. The flight started on time at 6.15 am.

At 7.50 am, the aeroplane landed at Kolkata airport (Netaji Subhash Chander Bose Airport). I picked my luggage from the conveyor belt : one big trekking bag and one hand bag which contained items like eatables and camera. I came out of the terminal. Walked with my luggage on trolley towards International Departure Terminal from where I was to catch my next flight to Dimapur. It was a 10 minutes walk. On reaching there, I found that the Air India Flight No.AI-9701 which was to start at 11.30 am to take me to Dimapur was delayed. I had no other option but to sit inside the terminal and wait for the announcement. There was no proper restaurant inside the terminal for taking breakfast. I munched the biscuits, Haldiram bhujia and dry fruits from my hand bag. At 10 am, the security check for my flight was announced. I checked  in my baggage. The flight ultimately took off at 12.30 pm. It was a small plane (ATR).

At 2.30 pm, the flight landed at Dimapur Airport in Nagaland. It was a small airport.  From the aircraft, I directly walked to the terminal. Spoke to Manomayee on mobile who told that she and other members were about to take lunch in Hotel De Oriental Dream which is opposite Hotel Saramati near Super market in Dimapur. From the airport, I took an auto (who charged me Rs.200/-) and reached Hotel De Oriental Dream which was about 5-6 km from the airport. The other members were delighted to see me. We all took lunch together. I took parantha, Paneer and dal while few took non-veg food. I am a strict vegetarian and due to this, I was to face problem in the days to come as this region is a paradise for non-vegetarians. 

After taking lunch, we walked nearby. There was market around (called super market). These 6 members were staying at Commissioner’s Guest House just near the said hotel. I had arranged for my stay at Circuit house Dimapur which was just about ¾ km away. We all in our Sumo taxi went to Circuit House. It was planned that we all will stay in Circuit house.  I had asked for arranging 3 rooms but the caretaker Hom Raj Sharma (a Nepali) informed that only 1 room is available for today for me. He allotted me VIP Suite Room no.201. I put my baggage therein. The room had all facilities like TV, Fridge, AC, Dining table, study table, visitor’s room, sofa, balcony, attached toilet and bathroom having geyser.  The tariff charged for the said Suit was Rs.700/- per day.( For non-officials, the tariff for the suit was Rs.1000/-. The tariff for double room AC was Rs.500/- for officials and Rs.700/- for non-officials and tariff for Double Room Non-AC was Rs.350/- for officials and Rs.500/- for non-officials. These tariffs were increased only recently vide Dy.Commissioner’s order dated 8^th September 2011). However, there was no facility for food in the Circuit House. You could only have tea, bread, egg, though the same were cheaply priced. I spoke to the Circuit House incharge Ms. Akokala (09436013091) on phone. She promised that she will arrange 3 rooms tomorrow. The other members went back to their Guest House (with plan to move to Circuit House tomorrow) and the driver parked the vehicle in Circuit House for safety purpose. I was told that there have been many incidents of vehicle theft in Nagaland. In room, I watched TV and went to sleep at 8 pm as we had to rise early in the morning for next day’s excursion.

On unique thing I noticed was that the sun set very early here and it became all dark by 5 pm in the evening. The shops and markets close by 5 pm. In the morning, the sun rises very early and at 5 am in the morning, the sun is already there forcing you to get up. This is all because sun rises in the east and we were in the farthest eastern part of the country. In a way, the working hours here are reduced. Though the markets close by 5 pm, but they start their day/market as usual at about 10 am.

31^st October 2011 Monday

At 5 am in the morning, I got up in the Circuit house, took bath and then breakfast. The driver Chandan, who also slept in the Circuit House dormitory, went to Commissioner’s Guest House and brought Vanitaji, Manomayee and Amit. The other three did not come and preferred to rest. Today, we had planned to go to Village Benreu in Peren District which, we were informed, was a beautiful village having a resort.

At 7 am in the morning, we started in our Tata Sumo Victa from the Circuit House.  We were not aware of the way to Benreu Village. But we still started hoping to find the way by asking the passerbys on the way. As we knew that Village Benreu was in Peren District, we first enquired about Peren. We were informed that for going to Peren, we have to first go to Jaluki. The distance from Circuit House to Jaluki turned out to be 42 km. We then reached Peren. However, once we are in Peren, we were surprised to see that not many were aware about Benreu. The ones who knew were totally wrong about the distance to the Village Benreu.

At 11.30 am, we reached Village Benreu. The distance from the Circuit House Dimapur to Village Benreu was found to be 94 km. The name of the resort, prepared by the Govt. in the village, is called Mt. Pauna Village Resort. It had 7 huts for accommodation. To our luck and surprise, we discovered that 31^st October happens to be the day for their annual festival. The local naga boys and girls and villagers had gathered in the resort in their traditional attires to celebrate their festival which is called LANGSIMNYI Festival. The programme was called “Festival of Conservation of Ecology through Culture”. We watched their traditional dance and then wrestling competition by children and teenagers. The boys and girls were too cute. We got ourselves photographed with them. The villagers, including the local SDM who seemed to be a learned young man, were very hospitable. They not only offered us Rice bear (which is their traditional drink; rice brewed after fermentation) in glasses made of bamboo and also in Rhino horn but also offered us to join them after the prog for the lunch. A group of school / college students from Sikkim had also come and performed before we had reached there. The food was mainly non-vegetarian with beef, pork, fish etc. I felt suffocated and came out of the dining hall while others relished the local cuisine. It was a feast for them. The resort incharge invited us to stay for a night in the resort and find out about the local culture but we gently declined his invitation as the same did not fit in our itinerary. Thereafter, we went to the Benreu village attached to the resort and spent some time there. Saw the wooden and stone gate at one corner of the village which, we were told, was used in ancient times as entry to this village.

At 1.45 pm, we started from the Benreu village for going back to Dimapur. While returning from Benreu, we took some wrong turn somewhere. Due to this, it took us long to reach back Dimapur. On the way back while passing through local area and villages, as the day was getting over, I experienced fouling smell of meat near every human settlement.

At about 6.15 pm, we reached Commissioner’s Guest House, Dimapur. I dropped Vanitaji, Manomayee and Amit there. Me and Chandan came to Circuit house. I took bath. At 7.30 pm, m and chandan reached back Commisisoners Guest house. We all took dinner together there. At 9.15 pm, me and chandan returned to Circuit House. Chandan was acomodatd in dormitory but he was not very happy and demanded a room and at my request, the staff gave him room no.209 (Rs.350/- per day). At 10.30 pm, I went to sleep after watching a little of tv.

1^st November Tuesday

After morning chores and after doing a little pranayam sitting in the balcony of my room at circuit house, I reached Commissioner guest house. We 7 person in our Sumo Victa started from there at 7.15 am for our today’s excursion. Today, we planned to go to Intanki National Park. The locals were not much aware about this place. After asking at many places, we ultimately reached said place at about 8.45 am. The last stretch to that place was almost non-motorable but our driver managed to drive up and down at dusty and muddy terrain to reach there. We were told that for entering the National park, we would need permission from Deputy Commissioner Office, Dimapur which we did not have (as nobody told us). We were also told that there is some dispute going on between two groups of locals who claim some part of the land under the National Park to be theirs and sometime back the dispute had turned violent.

Thus, we had to contend by roaming in this area. There was a dak bunglow nearby. We went there, to be welcomed by the breeze emanating from the Brahmpura river flowing nearby. This region is almost the boundary area of  Nagaland and river Brahmputra was flowing as a thin river alongside it, separating Nagaland from Assam. After spending sometime there, which was sufficient to relax us, we planned to return. On the way, at about 10.50 am, we reached Nagaland Zoological Park. There is an entry fee to the Park which is a small amount. Inside, we walked and watched various species of animals including Sloth Bear. We also saw a leopard there, caged. We could also see the famous Hornbill, which is Nagaland’s state bird.

At about 12.15 pm, we started from the zoo, back to our guest house. On the way, in Dimapur market, we took lunch at a Punjabi restaurant and also enjoyed lassi. We rested at the Commissioner  guest house for a while. Immediately thereafter, we all went to the Hongkong market  to do a little shopping. But I did not find anything worth buying. Sudha managed to find some beautiful beeds as she is fond of designing.

In the evening, at about 3.45 pm, I went to Kachari Ruins, which are located just opposite the Circuit House. Kachari was a tribe which ruled this region few centuries ago and Dimapur used to be their capital. Though it appeared to be under the control of Archeological survey of India, but inside it was not properly maintained, with revellers drinking and sleeping under the wild long grass which seemed to have grown up owing to improper upkeep.

By this time, it started getting dark. I walked to the Circuit house, situated just opposite. After freshening up, went to Commisisoner guest house and we all had our last dinner in Nagaland.

ASSAM

2^nd November Wednesday

We woke up early as we had to do a long journey by Road from Dimapur to Barpeta Road, Assam. At about 5.30 am, we all started from the Circuit house, Dimapur. On the way, we noticed bihari women offering water to the sun at the  embankments of small rivulets and water bodies wherever they got, on the occasion of Chhath puja. On the way, a few kilometers before Kaziranga, at about 7.30 am, we halted at a dhaba and took our breakfast and tea. Then we passed by Kaziranga National Park and took a few snaps at its imposing large gate. En route, we stopped at a AC restaurant and took lunch.

It was a very tiring journey. We reached Barpeta Road area at about 7.15 pm when it became all dark. We reached a Guest House of Assam Govt, opposite Prasanti Tourist Lodge, under Assam Tourist Development Corporation, Amtala, Barpeta Road. Checked in three rooms. Me and Amit Burman stayed in one room. Amit and Kailas immediately went to office of Forest Reserve in Barpeta Road to get entry passes to Manas National Park for tomorrow. The office was about to close but since Manomayee knew somebody in that office, they waited for us to arrive there and collected our passes. In the morning, the said office open late and we would have got late for entry into Manas if we collected these passes in morning.

We sat together and shared each other’s experiences in life, while sipping bear. Thereafter, we took dinner prepared by guest house staff. At about 10.30, we went to sleep.

3^rd November 2011 Thursday

At about 5.30am, we got up, took bath, breakfast and got ready for our journey to Manas National Park, Mathanguri. At 7.30 am, we started from our guest house in our sumo victa. At about 8.30 am, we reached the office of Forest Range Officer, Bansbari Range. The entry gate of Manas National Park is just 200 mtr from here. We got our passed checked here (which we collected last night) and also informed the said office about our requirement for Elephant Safari tomorrow morning so that they can intimate the elephant owners in advance. The season for animal sighting in Manas has just started 2-3 days back and till the season starts full fledge, the elephants owners are bringing elephants for safari only on advance notice. We also booked here for our accommodation in the only place available for stay inside the Park, which is Inspection Bunglow (IB) at Mathanguri. Since the season has just started, we were lucky to get the accommodation in the IB. The IB is a bunglow maintained by the Government for keeping a vigil on the activities at the border as Mathanguri is the last point in Assam and a river flows adjoining it, dividing Assam and Bhutan. The per room charges for stay at Mathanguri IB are quite steep at Rs.1200/- per room. For the food, they charged Rs.100/- per person per meal. In addition, we were charged Rs.300/- as entry fee for our vehicle and Rs.50/- per person as entry fee and Rs.200/- for dormitory room for the driver.

At 8.45, we reached the gate of Manas National Park. We all got down and were very excited at the idea of staying inside National Park today. We took few snaps. Then we started our journey inside the Park to Mathanguri Inspection bunglow in our sumo victa on jeepable track, with jungle on both sides. Sadly, we could not sight any wildlife. After a 1 ½ hour journey inside the jungle, at about 10.15 am, we reached the Mathanguri Inspection bunglow. Occupied our rooms. These were good rooms, better than our expectation. One can enjoy a very good view of the surroundings from here. A river is flowing just adjoining and present a very calm, serene and scenic view. After taking some snacks, we got down to the river and dipped our legs which rejuvenated us. Then we took lunch in the small mess there. The food was good. Thereafter, we decided to go for a ride to the neighbouring Bhutan. We started in our Sumo but sooner realized that the road was very poor and the path was hilly and circular. We could hardly achieve speed of 20 km per hour. But Bhutan was about 25 km. After going for about 12-13 km, we decided to return back. This route is very virgin and is rarely used for going to Bhutan.

After resting for a while at the IB, we at 2.30 pm started for the Jeep Safari in our Sumo inside the jungle. Since the season has just started, at various palces, the labourers were doing work to repair the jeepable track and to cut the long (almost 10-20 feet high) wild grass. At many places, the grass was burnt by the jungle staff to enhance the visibility of the wildlife. We were unfortunate to not to spot any wild animal in natural habitat. Few other tourists including foreigners were also roaming in the jungle in open jeeps to spot the wildlife. As the sun was setting down, we returned back to the bunglow. Enjoyed the beautiful sunset from the bunglow. By 4.30 pm, it was all dark. We took our dinner at about 7 and then went to sleep.

4^th  November 2011 Friday

We got up early in the morning at 3.30 am. It was a little breezer and colder. At 4 am, we watched the sunrise.  By 4.30 am, the sunshine had already touched some portions of the bunglow. At 4.30 am, we all started in our Sumo to reach back the entrance Gate of Manas National Park. We reached there at 5.30 am. The elephant owners with 5-6 elephants were waiting there for us to give us the experience of Elephant Safari. There was a platform from where one can climb on to the elephant. We adjusted 2 persons on one elephant each. It was my first experience of elephant safari. It was amazing to see how the elephant could trounce upon the high bushes and vegetation to reach the interiors of the jungle to enable us to see the wildlife. It was very thrilling. The elephant took us to the remotest portions if the jungle in search for wildlife but we could see nothing except an elephant in its natural habitat. By this time, the sun was emitting scorching heat and we had no choice but to return back to the Gate where Vanitaji was waiting.

At 7.45 am, we started from Manas National Park Gate for our forward journey to Gauhati, which is our last leg of the journey. We took breakfast at a marwadi restaurant at Barpeta Road on the way. In the evening, at about 3.30 pm, we reached Gauhati Airport and bid good bye to Kailas and Sudha who were going to Kolkatta for sightseeing. The remaining five i.e. me, Mythili, Vanitaji, Manomayee and Amit Burman reached at about 4 pm at the Travel agent’s office in Guahati. We were joined there by Sangeeta Kendel (Manomayee’s friend, who reached from Maharashtra). We cleared the account of Chandan, our driver and bid farewell to him. We six booked our bus tickets to Aizwal, Mizoram, which cost us Rs.650/- per person and which is a over-night journey. We were transported by a bus to the Bus Terminal. From there, the big bus started at about 6 pm for Gauhati.

In the night, at about 8 pm, our bus passed by Shillong.

5^th  November 2011 Saturday

In the morning, the bus developed a snag and had to be repaired. The repair work took longer than expected. This disrupted the entire programme.

Our bus reached Aizwal at about 7 pm in the night. It turned out to be the longest bus journey of my life.

We got down at one of the bus stands. From there, we took two taxis (Maruti 800), who charged us Rs.250/- per taxi and reached the YHAI, Aizwal at about 7.30 pm. Mizoram is called the land of Maruti cars. One can see Maruti 800 in abundance here.

On reaching YHAI hostel, which is at Luangmual, we were welcomed by Ms. Mastie Etlar, Nunui, Zuali and Lalboih at the reception (who are college girls). We filled our forms and we were allotted our rooms. Other participants of our group had already taken their dinner. We six took dinner. I and Amit went for a walk outside the hostel and returned after 1 hour. At 10 pm, went to sleep.

MIZORAM

6^th November 2011 Sunday

Woke up at 7 am. Got ready. All took breakfast at 8 am in the mess. Met fellow participants. After breakfast, most went outside for sightseeing. We six at 9.45 am strolled out and decided to discover the surrounding area. Went to a nearby church. Since it happened to be Sunday, the life in Mizoram appeared to have come to a standstill with all shoos and establishments closed and people thronging to church for prayers and enjoyment. Then we walked to famous War Memorial nearby, which is a cemetery of those who lost their lives in the freedom struggle in Mizoram.

At 1 pm, we returned to the hostel. Took lunch. After some rest, we again walked out to discover more of the nearby areas. After walking for about 3-4 km, we returned back to the hostel at about 4 pm.

We were served tea and pakora in the evening at the hostel and then delicious dinner in the night. The cook was a local whose name was Kunga. The name of the base camp incharge was Mr.Doa. In the night, we were given a presentation about the trek by Ms.Muani who is Jt.Secretary of UHAI Mizoram and surprisingly speaks good hindi. She educated us about various useful words and phrases used frequently in Mizoram in day-to-day life and explained their meaning. She also sung a beautiful Mizo song in a hilarious gesture: “Eskimo Siliava, Sangi Mendi Lai”. Mr.Abhay Joshi from Bhavnagar was selected as our Group Leader.

At 10 pm, we went to sleep.

7^th November 2011 Monday : Trek from Basecamp to  Vaipuanpho camp

Woke up at about 6 am in the morning. After breakfast, at 7.30 am everyone lined up in the campus outside for a briefing by the YHAI State President and for flagging off for the higher camps. We were 28 persons in our group. We were provided three guides : David (09612214342), Loma and VL. We were provided a bus which transported us to a place from where our trek was to start and dropped us there at about 8.50 am.

After walking for about 2 ½ hours, we reached Serlui, a small Hydel project (1 MW) of the Power and electricity Department of Govt of Mizoram. This was Aizwal-Reike Road. Shortly, we reached Suspension Girder Bridge over the river and walked over it and took snaps. It was a beautiful view. We sat in a dhaba by the side of the bridge and took tea. Then we got down to the river and sat on rocks and enjoyed the scenery with legs dipped in the river.

At 2.15 pm, we reached our first camp i.e. Vaipuanpho camp.  Met the camp leader. We were given welcome drink and pakoras, as is the tradition in every YHAI trek.

At about 7.30 pm, we were served dinner in the open. We all participants mingled and we also had a campfire where the participants and the camp leaders and cooks sang songs and cracked jokes. There was no electricity in this camp. The tents were pitched on cemented surface. The toilet was a pucca toilet but one had to cross a small make-a-shift bridge over a stream to reach there. There were total 3 toilets.

At about 10 pm, we went to sleep.

8^th November 2011 Tuesday : Trek to Ailawng Camp and caving

I got up at about 4 am in the morning. Came out of the camp. It was a starry night and one could see thousands of stars in the sky. Ravi, who is a scientist, was gazing stars. We two tried to spot the cuckoo bird whose voice could be heard. We were joined by Sandeep Pandurang (from Bangalore) who is an avid nature lover. I was stunned and mesmerized by his vast knowledge about flora, fauna and insects. He told that the continuous sound (like a pressure cooker) which we were hearing throughout in this region, was an insect called Cicada and the sound emitted by it signifies that it is inviting its female counterpart for mating ! He also told that the life cycle of cicada is very short and it dies immediately after mating.

As the sun came out of slumber and the darkness gave way to light, more and more participants woke up and gathered there for morning tea and to do their morning chores. Vanitaji had a complaint that my voice, being loud and due to my speaking with Ravi and Sandeep in the early morning, she could not sleep properly.

After taking breakfast, our group started at about 7.30 am for trek to the next camp. Today’ trek was about 8 km. But it was a tough trek. There was steep hike at places. The terrain today was almost up-climb today. Vanita ji had a harrowing time in doing todays’ trek. (She even fainted at one place and on reaching Ailawng camp, she in the night today was transported by jeep back to the base camp for taking rest as she dropped from the trek).  In today’s trek, several participants got bitten by leech. We walked on road at some places.

At 1 pm, we reached the Ailawng Camp. On reaching there, we were served hot tea and pakora.

At 2 pm, the group members led by the caving guides were taken to the caves for caving, which were reached after walking for about ½ hour. I found that it was really very dangerous to cross the caves. There was total darkness inside and one had to carry torch and at the same time keep both hands free for maneuvering. On had to climb up and down inside and sometime to crawl in total darkness and there was shortage of oxygen and fresh air inside. I had walked a few steps inside cave when one member in the front yelled that she could see in her front that it was too risky and therefore has decided to get back and suggested others also to get back. Hearing this and as I was already feeling suffocated, I retracted back and shunned the idea of caving. This idea was also shared by at least 10 other members. The others mustered courage to do the caving (cave was about 120 mtr long and there was kites (chamgadad) inside) and I salute them for their courage. We, who could not gather courage, waited outside, at the other end of cave, for the courageous members to reach there  one hour after travelling through the harrowing cave. One by one, all members reached there, all drenched and their clothes, hands and feet all dusty. We pulled them out from the cave. After that, we all gathered and walked to another cave which was infact small space beneath a big rock and one went in and came out from the same opening. The 1^st cave is called Khuangehera Puk (162 mtr long) and the 2^nd cave is called Suandunga Puk (25 mtr long). “Puk” means cave. hereafter, we all walked back to the camp.  On way, we witnessed locals playing football in a open space on the mountain which presented a beautiful treat for the eyes. There was a big tree and an open graveyard/kabristan. Some members climbed on the tree.

At about 5 pm, all returned to the camp. Some of those who got dusty due to caving took bath. At 6 pm, dinner was served. From 6.30 to 8.30 pm, campfire was held and all enjoyed. The tents were pitched on cemented surface. The toilet was a pucca toilet.  There were  3 toilets for gents and 3 toilets for ladies. There was no electricity in the camp (there was electricity in nearby village but nobody ventured out due to total darkness outside). At 10.30, went to sleep.

9^th November 2011 Wednesday : Trek to Hawlhhah camp via Reike

At 5.30, I woke up. After freeing from toilet and facewash, took breakfast (puri, tea) and started at 7.40 am from the camp for trek to the next camp. At 9 am, we reached point Reike (which is part of Reiketalang village). This is the highest point of Mizoram. One can have 360 degree view of whole of Mizoram from here. It was a very beautiful view. One could feel pleasant breeze here. There is also a watch-tower here from where one can have better view of the valley. We spent about 45 minutes here and took snaps.

At about 9.45 am, we started again. Upto Reike, it was climb up. Now, it was down and down. At about 11 am, we reached ethnic village resort. We ate packed lunch here. There was a cafeteria, we took tea here. There was parking area also, for the tourists to park their vehicles. I could see a big mobile tower nearby. At 11.50 am, we started again and had to walk on road. We passed through a village which appeared to be non-rural and we saw a bank and then shops selling branded snacks and beverages. Most of the route is jeepable path.

At 2.30 pm, we reached the Hawlhhah camp. We travelled total 11.5 km distance today. We were welcomed by the camp leader Rupesh Nandi (from Kolkata). We were offered soup, tea and biscuits. This camp was in the jungle by the side of the river stream. We were tempted by the stream and many, including me, ventured and took bath in the stream which had rocks hidden in it and stream was flowing in a descent. There were big black holes in the rocks in the stream and sitting in it with legs hanging outside acted like jacuzzi !

At 6.30 pm, dinner was served which comprised rice, dal, mix veg, pickle. From 7.30 to 9 pm, we had campfire (by burning deadwood at every camp). It was not very cold and was rather pleasant. There was no constructed toilet in this camp. This is inside jungle, much away from any human habitation. A big septic tank / hole made at one place in the jungle where one can ease. One bucket was provided. For washing and teeth brushing, one had to get down 15-20 steps to reach the stream. For stay, two big polythene tents were pitched up on jungle surface, one for gents and the other for ladies. Thermocoal mattresses were provided and 2 blankets per person were provided. It acted like a dormitory.  For the 1^st time in this trek, we all 16 males slept together in one tent. The tent was airy. The dew kept falling the entire night, making water to collect over the tent and making it colder inside. At 10 pm, we went to sleep.

10^th November 2011 Thursday : Trek to Nghalchawm camp

We got up at 5.30 am. After freeing from morning schedule of toilet and washing, took breakfast at 7 am. At 8.30 am, we started from the camp. Rupesh came with us upto ¾ km. He was young and energetic. It was all decline from here and it was basically a jungle trail.  In ½ hour, we reached a river stream. We had to cross it. We took out our shoes to prevent them from getting wet. Some members were beaten by leaches here. (I was told that in some parts of the world, getting bitten by leach is a therapy as the leach such impure blood and leave pure blood in our body). We reached a hut after ½ hour walk. From here, we have to climb up, which got steeper after some time and lasted throughout. I got tired. We could move very slow due to steep climb. It appeared whatever height we came down yesterday, we were climbing the same from the other side.

At 11.30 am, we reached Village Lengte. Took packed lunch here. I plucked a big fruit (Mausami like) which was red from inside. It was very delicious. Others also ate it. The locals told that it is called Ser Tok. At 1.15 pm, we started again after resting. The road was just nearby. We crossed the road and then climbed down in the jungle. In the jungle, we had to move up and down.  There are thousands of varieties of butterflies in Mizoram and we spotted several colourful butterflies in the jungle. After coming out of the jungle, we walked about ½ km on the tar road.

At 2.30 pm, we reached Nghalchawm camp. The camp leader Mr.Rova welcomed us. We were offered welcome drink : Rasna, soup and biscuits. We washed ourselves. It was a good camping site. There were 4 tents in one row and 4 tents in the opposite row. The tents were pitched on 4 inch cemented surface. It appeared to be a permanent camping site. Thermocoal mattresses and 2 blankets each were provided. The toilets were pucca toilets – two for gents and two for ladies, downstairs. One had to bring water in bucket from behind the kitchen, which looked very odd and mindless.  At all camps (except Hawlhhah), tents have zips and thus can be closed fully.

At 4.30 pm, we were given tea. At 6 pm, we were served dinner. Mizo food was served. I somehow did not like it and managed with only the soup part. We did campfire till 9 pm. Some members were busy taking contact details of others, with promise to keep in touch after the trek. Kardam Modi from Gujarat was such a good player of flute that he enthralled everybody during the trek with the bollywood songs and bhazans on his flute. Went to sleep at 10 pm.

11^th November 2011 Friday : Trek to Sihhmui and then by bus to basecamp

We woke up at 5.30 am in the morning. Took breakfast. At 8.40 am, we started from the camp. Within 15 min, we all reached the tar road. We walked about 1 km on the tar road (the walk was a little ascending upto the village) to reach Village Nghalchawm.  It took us total 35 min from the camp to reach hbere. We sat in the village. Charged our mobiles and camera battery in the villagers houses. People in the village watching TV in their homes. The camp leader Rova accompanied us upto this point. Mizo is a woman dominated society unlike other cultures where males dominate. In marriage. Rs.420/- is given by the boy side to the girl side ! While women work, the men generally sit idle.

At 9.25 am, we started from the village. From here, our walk was descending. At 10.20 am, we reached the hanging bridge over the river. Few had still energy left to get down to the river and take bath therein. I slept after crossing the bridge, by spreading my yoga sheet. At 11.40 am, we all started for the final lag of our trek. It was 10-15 min steep climb from there, then 10 min down. Thereafter, we reached the road.   Our bus (arranged by YHAI) was waiting there. This point is near to a place called Sairangon NH-54. All got into the bus. Some sat on the roof of the bus.

At 12.30 pm, the bus started for onward journey to the basecamp. At 1.30 pm, we reached the basecamp. (Vanita ji was resting there). Took bath. (Since Sangeeta had to catch train from Guahati, she left the hostel at 2 pm after bidding farewell to all). Few members left for Burma for sightseeing in Champai village and Champai river.

At 3.35 pm, we five left for the market to do some shopping and sightseeing as we had nothing else to do and our flight back to Delhi was on 13^th November. We walked to the bus stand, which was 10 min walk from the youth hostel. Took city bus from the bus stand. Got down at Temple Square in Aizwal (bus charges were Rs.10/- per person). It is market area. We entered into a shopping complex. Vanitaji and Mythili ji did some shopping. We took food in Crown Restaurant. Most restaurants serve mainly non-veg food made of pork, beef, chicken; only few have veg food also. We took masala dosa, American choupsey, lassi, cold coffee. At 5 pm, it became dark and almost entire market closed down. Abhay Joshi, Malti and Saroj Patel were also roaming in the market like us. We took a city bus from there to another local market (Rs.8/- per person ticket). From there, we 8 took two Maruti 800 taxi for YHAI @ Rs.100/- per taxi. Reached Youth hostel at 6.40 pm. We learnt mizo words from the girls at the reception.

The dinner was served at 7.30 pm but we skipped the same. Some members had already left after the trek. Met one trekker (Mhapsekar) who was with me in Darjeeling trek. Went to sleep at 10 pm.

12^th November Saturday

We five hired a Innova taxi for sightseeing in Aizwal today. The taxi came late at 9 am.

At 10 am, we reached Mizoram Science Centre. It is a good place for recreation developed by the State Government. Infact, I found this centre to be at par with the one in Singapore. There was even a 3D theatre in it, which was recently inaugurated. We enjoyed a short movie inside it.

At 12.20 pm, we reached KV Paradise. But it was closed. Took snaps there. Then at 1.50 pm, we reached Solomon’s Temple. It is infact an incomplete church. We also went to Museum (near Governor’s house) but it was closed by the time we reached there. At 4.30 pm, we returned to the youth hostel.

Dinner was served at 7 pm. Whatever members were left, wer so mingled that the idea of separation was disturbing them.  Our room today was empty (as our roommates had left) and only me and Amit were left in our room. At 10.30, went to sleep.

13^th November  Sunday

Woke up at 6 am. Took bath and breakfast. Bid good bye to all. At 8.15 am, our taxo came. Me, Mythili, Anurag and Ankit got into the taxi as our flight was earlier than Vanitaji, Amit, Manomayee. Started from youth hostel at 8.30 am. Reached Lengpui Airport, Aizwal at 9.45 am. We 4 took breakfast in the restaurant at 1^st floor of the airport as there was sufficient time for the flight to take off.

At 11.30 am, the Air India flight took off from Aizwal airport. At 12.30, the flight landed at Imphal airport. Then after 20 min, it flew again. At about 1.30 pm, we reached Calcutta airport. Anurag and Ankit left for their respective places in Kiolkata. Mythili ji took her flight to Mumbai which was about to leave. My flight to Delhi was late, which got further delayed and thus I had no option but to wait ant the airport.

At 7.30 pm, the Spicejet flight took off from Calcutta airport. At 9 pm, reached Delhi Airport. I caught a taxi and reached home at 9.30 pm.

Thus, another beautiful journey and trek came to an end.

Useful information about Mizoram trek:

1.   Postpaid Vodaphone, Airtel connections working here. The pre-paid connections are also working in Aizwal. Mobile signal is available almost throughout the trek route.

2.  There is no electricity at any camp. So charge your gadgets fully in advance. Charging can also be done en-route in the villages. If possible, carry a portable charger.

3.       Carry salt for removing the leach in case you are bitten by leach.

4.       Sunday is totally closed in Mizoram. The whoile Mizoram come to a standstill. Even the buses do not ply. So plan you program accordingly to avoid any inconvenience on this account.

5.       Language and food is a problem in Mizoram. The vegetarians, particularly, will find very less options for veg food.

6.       The lifestyle of Mizo people is very modern. They have excellent dress sense.

7.       The sun rises very early and sets very early.

Useful terms in Mizo (which we learnt during the trek) :

Mizo                                      English/Hindi

Klome                                   Thank you

Idem em                              How are you

Mang tha                             Good night

Chibai                                    Namaste, good morning, Good morning and like

Ainge ming ?                      what is your name ?

Tunge ming ?                     who are you ?

K mangai che                     I love you

Hilim                                      happy

E hilim em ?                        Are you happy ?

Riltram                                  hungry

Cho                                        food

Thinkpui                               tea

Tui                                          water

Saa                                         meat

Ku ba                                     supari

Kanu                                      mother

Te                                           small

Lian                                        big

 Sunil Goel advocate B.Sc. L.Lb L.Lm

New Delhi (09810215488)

email : sunilgoel@rediffmail.com

Compatibility of SONY Bravia LCD LED TV with Hard Disk Drive

Dear Friends,

Todays is the world of technology. Sometimes, small things irritate us when we do not get what we expect from the technological devices. As our requirement for storage memory for storing our photographs, videos etc. has increased, the devices/ options with ever increasing storage capacity are increasing in the market. Now, we have external Hard Disk Drives of different companies / brands having storage capacity of 1000 GB !

The SONY company is very particular with the devices which are attached to it as inputs for various purposes. You have bulk of your photographs and videos stored on your HDD and want to view / enjoy it on your Sony TV (like Sony Bravia LCD / LED). You will surprisingly find that not all HDDs are compatible with Sony TV. I encountered this problem when I wanted to play on my Sony Bravia LED the photographs and videos stored on my Seagate Hard Disk Drives by attaching the same to my Sony tv.

My Sony bravia LED TV was playing pen drives, sony camera but was not playing Seagate external Hard disk Drive (HDD) and thus I was not able to view and enjoy photographs  on my Sony LED which were stored in the HDD.

I found out that the solution is very simple. It is as under :

1.       Format the HDD. (CAUTION : Before formatting the HDD, do not forget to copy the entire data/files/photographs/videos etc to some safe place because formatting will erase all these  from the HDD).

For formatting, connect the HDD to your computer/laptop. Click ‘My Computer’. Right Click on the icon of this HDD (Expansion drive).  A window will open up wherein “format” is one of the options. Click on ‘format’.

2.       Under the option “File System”, change the setting from ‘NTFS’ to ‘exFAT’ and click ‘Start’.

3.        The HDD gets formatted instantly and is now in ‘exFAT’ format.

4.       Paste back all your data/files/photographs/videos etc to your HDD.

5.       Now attach this HDD (which is now in ‘exFAT’ format) to your Sony Bravia LED.

6.       Enjoy the photographs/videos etc which are stored on your HDD, on your Sony Bravia LED TV.

I hope most of you will find this solution very useful and effective.

Sunil Goel advocate B.Sc. L.Lb L.Lm

Supreme Court judgment on Ramdev Ramlila Maidan incident of June 2011

Dear Friends,

The Supreme Court of India in its judgment of 23rd February 2012 has expanded the scope of right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India to include right to sound sleep and elevated this right to the category of fundamental rights. This judgment was given on suo moto cognizance by Supreme Court on the incident which happened in June 2011 at Ramlila Maidan New Delhi where police crack down at midnight on the people who were sleeping and had gathered there in support of yoga guru Ramdev. 

This judgment is very important and would be helpful for those who have been feeling disturbed, particularly at night, because of noisy activities going on in their neighbourhood. 

Read the complete judgment.

Sunil Goel advocate B.Sc. L.Lb L.Lm

HC quashes FIR against Russian photojournalist Ms.Olga Timoshik

Dear Friends,

Its a matter of pride for me personally to inform that the FIR against Russian photojournalist Ms. Olga Timoshik has been quashed yesterday by the Punjab & Haryana High Court on a writ petition prepared by me. This girl's story of torture for last more than 2 years during which she was implicated in a criminal case in punjab and accused of being a russian spy and forbidden from going back to russia is like a tale from a bollywood blockbuster. I am very happy for her. Its a proud feeling.....

Log in to the news here : http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120128/punjab.htm

HC quashes FIR against Russian photojournalist 

Lokpal Bill 2011

Dear Friends,

Today 29.12.2011 is historic day for India. The Lokpal & Lokayukta Bill 2011 (Bill No.134) has been passed by Indian Lok Sabha on 27.12.2011 and the same will be debated throughout the day today in Rajya Sabha. It remains to be seen whether this Bill will be passd by the Rajya Sabha also in its present form.

This Bill has generated lots of controversy forcing Anna Hazare to sit on fast and dharna. I am sure we all are curious to know as to what are the contents of this Bill.

The text of the Bill as passd by Lok Sabha and as introduced in Rajya Sabha, is available with me. Those interested may send request.

Sunil Goel advocateB.Sc. L.Lb L.Lm

Indian Supreme Court lift ban on Hindi movie Aarakshan directed by Prakash Jha

Dear friends, those of you who are interested in reading the text of Hon'ble Supreme Courts judgment dated 19.8.2011 whereby the Supreme Court lifted ban on exhibition of hindi movie AARAKSHAN in state of UP may log on to http://judis.nic.in/supremecou

rt/imgs.aspx

A Bench of Justice M.K.Sharma and Anil Dave set aside the order passed by State of UP whereby the State Government had imposed ban on release of the said hindi film movie in the State. 

Sunil Goel advocateB.Sc. L.Lb L.Lm

National Heritage Trek Expedition in Udhampur District, Jammu & Kashmir (May-June 2011)

Trek to Pancheri - Sankri Devta - Natha Top – Sanasar – Patnitop - Gauri Kund - Shudh Mahadev - Mantalai in Jammu & Kashmir

By Sunil Goel with YHAI from 28 May to 4th June 2011

28th May 2011 Saturday

I, my cousins Kamal and Anshul started from our home in Punjabi Bagh, New Delhi at about 7.30 pm with our ruck-sacks resting on our back. We boarded Metro Train from Punjabi Bagh and got down at Kashmere Gate station. From there, we took an auto and reached the Bus Operators shops near LalQuila. Bought bus tickets for Jammu from Solanki Travels, Shop No.26 (they charged Rs.2500/- for 2 sleeper berth and Rs.1000/- for a seat). They transported us, alongwith 6-7 other passengers, in a matador jeep to a spot in Wazirabad where the buses were parked. We boarded the sleeper coach bus. It was a big bus having several births for sleeping and several seats for sitting. This was my first experience to travel in a bus having sleeping facility.

The bus started at about 9 pm from Wazirabad. There was huge traffic within Delhi (probably due to Saturday) and it took more than an hour to come out of Delhi itself. The bus stopped for dinner on the way at Kurekshetra at about 1.30 am in the night. Thereafter, the bus continued its journey to Jammu.

29th May 2011 Sunday

The bus reached Jammu bus stand at about 10 am. We got down there (the bus was going to Katra and our tickets were also valid till Katra). We spotted a good looking restaurant (Khana Kh

azana) nearby on the road itself. We were feeling hungry and it was already 10 am. We freshen up in the restaurant itself and took breakfast.

At about 11 am, we took another bus from there for Udhampur. It cost us Rs.40/- per person. The bus waited for the bus to be filled in by passengers. During this time, the hawkers came one by one in the bus and displayed their items. One hawker was selling one chain with ring for just Rs.10/-. Another hawker was selling a small equipment for juice extraction directly from juicy fruits for just Rs.20/- ! I was surprised by their marketing skills.

The bus proceeded to Udhampur via Nagrota village. After about 15 km from Jammu, there was a spot where there was diversion : one way was going to Katra and other way was going to Udhampur.

At about 1.30 pm, our bus reached Udhampur. We got down at ARTO, near Devak (1/2 km short of Udhampur bus stand). It was hot and humid here and we were disturbed by this fact as we had expected pleasant / cold weather here. We walked about 2 minutes to our base camp which was housed in community hall, Devak (across nalla). Greeted by incharge/cook Pawan Sharma (cell: 9697137409, 9697137206). He belongs to village Landhar near village Pancheri. He served us with lunch. Thereafter, Mr. Vikas Sharma (camp leader) (cell : 9419918283) arrived. He is from Deptt. of Youth & Sports and is a volunteer here. We submitted our YHAI forms to him and paid fees of Rs.2500/- per person. Kamal and Anshul took YHAI ruck-sacks on rent of Rs.25/- each. I decided to carry my own ruck sack brought by me. We met fellow participants. They were Mr. Sudhir Bagade (Asst. Professor in SNDT College, Mumbai, cell : 09869374600) and 7 school students of Class VIII from some Jammu School (at Ghordi) accompanied with their teacher Mr. Vishwand Singh (09858022829).

At about 3.30 pm, we 12 persons with guide Mr. Jagdish Lal Sharma boarded a bus from the road and started our journey to Pancheri. The route was dotted with Chir trees. Local people extract resin from it. I could notice cut in down arrow shape in several trees with a metal sheet at the bottom of arrow and the resin through sheet getting collected in container tied below.

At about 5.45 pm, we reached Village Pancheri. Met guide Mr.Rakesh there (he is teacher in some local school). We got down from the bus there (the bus was going ahead to Village Lander). Pancheri is a hill resort / village perched with Deodar forest on one side and a small hilltop township on the other. We came down from the road to the village for sightseeing and walked about 2 km to reach Dak Bangla (Forest Rest House). It was vast meadow surrounded by gigantic Deodar trees. On the way, Mohd. Shafi, Head constable from Pancheri police station JK Police was deputed to escort us through the next phase of the trek. After enjoying there, we returned back to the road.

At about 7 pm, we started our climb from Pancheri to Sankri Devta. It was getting dark. It started drizzling accompanied with thundershowers. Seeing this, we increased our speed to avoid getting wet on a difficult terrain having no shelter and with weather becoming darker and darker. Few hundred meters short of Sankri, it got windy accompanied with lightening.

At about 8.15 pm, we reached Sankri Devta camp. It was housed in a small school building. There was a small shop for biscuits etc. Sankri Devta is famous as the abode of Lord Shiva. Our accommodation was arranged in the community hall which was recently constructed and resembled like a 2 star hotel. The camp leader was one Gopal who was a locale. The electricity had just went off due to high velocity winds and downpour. We were served with tea and pakora. Another participant Mr. Shubhendu Konar (Software engineer from Bangalore, cell : 09741392422) joined us there at about 9 pm. The weather became pleasant. At 10.30 pm, we were served dinner. It was simple nutritious food : rice, potato/paneer, salad, chapati. We all moved to big room in the community hall building for sleeping. There were 10 beds. There were also 10 mattresses placed on floor. All these were provided with blankets. We slept on beds, children slept on mattresses on floor. There were 4 attached toilets and 4 attached bathrooms. The weather got cold outside. There was thunderstorm, hailstorm and rains accompanied with high velocity winds in the night at 1 am. Nature’s fury was at its worst. However, we made ourself cozy inside the blankets.

30th May 2011 Monday : Sankri Devta to Natha top

At 6.15 am in the morning, I got up. I went to the terrace and enjoyed the view of the valley all around. I got freshen up, heated the water on the gas, shaved and took bath. There were intermittent rains. Took photos at Sankri Devta mandir in the compound. Then we took breakfast.

At about 9 am, we 13 participants accompanied by Mohd Shafi (J&K police Head constable) and Mr.Kuldeep Singh (guide) started from Sankri Devta for our next camp at Natha Top. It was a strenuous and hard trek : hard, because it was a fairly long trek and we were not mentally prepared for it. The trek from Sankri Devta to Natha Top was about 22 km ! The entire route was up down up down. There were some breathtaking views, meadows on the way. We filled our bottles with water on the way. There was underground natural water source at one or two places on the way. We took packed lunch on way at about 1.30 p.m. There was no place for shelter on the way. I was wearing half sleeve t-shirt. Due to intensity of sun rays, I suffered sun burn on my arms and face. Once should always wear full sleeve t-shirt and proper hat to avoid sun rays on the face. About 2 km before the Nath top camp, I and kamal gave our ruck sacks to the guide as we were not able to move further with rucksacks.

By the time we reached Natha Top camp at about 5 pm, we all were totally tired and exhausted. Natha top is the highest point of this trek and is at a height of 2648 meters or say 9000 ft above sea level. It offers scenic views of peaks like Brahma and other surrounding peaks and valleys. There was no shop or habitation. It was a small plain area where building of Agricultural deptt was located. The tents were perched adjoining this building. There were four huge towers of mobile companies at this spot. Due to these huge towers, this point is visible from all over the J&K valley. Nearby, on the top of Natha top, there is Indian Air force installation with radars who keep an eye on the JK highway. It is an important location strategically from security point of view. We were told that it is due to this reason that the Govt. do not encourage tourist activities and hotels etc. at this place despite the fact that the weather here is more pleasant and cooler than Patnitop. This place was quite windy. The source of water was a natural source (called chashma in local language) at this spot. Even the CRPF (located 1 km away) draws water from this source through pipeline.

We changed our clothes which had become wet from inside due to sweating. We were served with tea and pakoras. The camp leader was Mr.Bittoo sharma (local school teacher). We were issued sleeping bags and blankets. We spread the blankets on the rubber sheets already lying inside the tents. We enjoyed dance of the school kids in the tent on local folk songs. At 9 pm, we were served with dinner. It was quite cold here. At about 10.30 pm, we went to sleep. I could not sleep properly as I had taken blankets which turned out to be insufficient due to too much cold in the night. The sleeping bags were of cloth (and not of nylon).

31st May 2011 Tuesday : Natha Top to Sanasar

I got up at 5 am in the morning. Since it is the highest point, the sun rays had already started kissing this area. We all went a little down amidst shrubs to answer the call of nature. I took bath at the water point. The water felt too cold but I still braved and managed to take bath. Inspired by this, few others also mustered courage to take bath.

After taking breakfast, at about 9.45 am we started our trek for the day to the next camp at Sanasar. We were accompanied by another constable from J&K police and the camp leader. It was a downward journey. The entire route is almost on the motorable coaltar road. However, to give us some joy of trekking, we were taken through short cuts at certain places by walking through the hills / jungle /shrubs. The entire route is dotted with trees – chir, saru, kail and some deodar trees. The trees were very lofty. We suffered sun burn on this stretch also. I could feel the intensity of the sun rays.

At about 2 pm, we reached Sanasar after trekking for about 10 km. From Sanasar bus stand, it was about ¾ km walk down to our camp which comprised of tents perched amidst several cottages. Some school groups were also staying in the cottages. Near to bus stand is the building of Jawahar institute of Mountaineering (JIM). We could see several boys and girls taking training there.

We were greeted on arrival by none other than Shri KK Gandotra (cell: 09419194527), Project Director, YHAI. He was joined by the camp leader Mr.Vijay Kumar (of Jammu) (cell: 07298020420). We sat there in shade and chatted with Mr.Gandotra. There are few shops of daily utilities, snacks, fruits etc. and 2-3 dhabas there. We went to the jungle meadow on the back of our camp (basically a natural park) and took packed lunch there. Bought and ate fruits (banana, water melon).

It is a beautiful picturesque spot. The main attraction is a vast meadow amidst lofty devdar trees with mountains in the background. It reminded me of Khajjiar, another beautiful hill station in Himachal Pradesh (also called Switzerland of India). Sanasar is quite popular station here, though not as popular as Patnitop. This is probably because the road to this place is not very good and accommodation choice is very limited. Amidst the vast meadow, there is a golf course which is not being used nowadays. Till 2 years back, this place also boasted para-gliding but to some incident 2 years back, there is no para-gliding as of now here.

We went down to the vast ground / meadow and played cricket there alongwith guides and locals. Some of us also enjoyed horse riding there. There is a small lake nearby which appear to be stagnating. There were several tourists enjoying there. It appeared to me as if the whole ground was a stage and the mountains and trees at the back was stage background and we were watching the show from near huts as spectators. As the day progressed, school children of other schools calos came on to the ground and played. At 5 pm, we returned to the camp. We were served with tea and pakoras. The kitchen was erected at the back of the tents outside the complex. Suddenly, there were dark clouds and it started raining accompanies with strong winds. I and anshul put on our rain sheets and enjoyed strolling in the rains. There was hailstorm. The weather became pleasant and cooler. The electricity suddenly went off due to constant rains and wind (which could not be restored till morning). We made use of our torches. At 9 pm, we took dinner inside one of the tents as it was raining outside. We enjoyed the dish prepared from Kasrode (local vegetable grown here in plenty). The dish looked and tasted like fried ladyfinger. We felt cold. We slipped into our sleeping bags provided at this camp and went to sleep at 11 pm.

1st June 2011 Wednesday : Sanasar to Patnitop

We woke up at 5.45 am. The sun rays had already kissed the mountains around. YHAI had put up two temporary commodes in the jungle at the back of the camping complex. We answered the call of nature and got freshen up near big water tank nearby besides the wooden hut / cottage. Water is being fed into this tank from some natural source. The tank was overflowing. Everyone brushed teeth and washed hands mouth. The atmosphere was very calm and quiet with no wind flowing; we were standing in the open with just a t-shirt. I took tea and biscuits while others took breakfast. Suddenly, it started drizzling. We bid good bye to the cooking and other staff and Mr.Gandotra and walked to the bus stand.

At 8 am, we reached the bus stand. Last bus from here is at 8 am. We 13 persons got in. The bus charged Rs.10/- per person upto Patnitop. The bus went via Natha top. It started raining and frizzling on the way which continued upto Patnitop. This place is dominated by gujjars. On the way, the gujjars kept getting in to the bus. After about 5-6 km, the bus got filled to the brim by locals / gujjars with their milk containers. There was so much crowd inside that I could not even move my body. I was sitting in front near driver seat. Today, there was unusual crowd in the bus as the 7 am bus did not arrive today. I realised as to how the mobile telecom revolution has changed the lives of the people here. I could see even the bus driver talking on mobile as also the local gujjars.

At about 9.45 am, we reached Patnitop which was a 19 km road journey from Sanasar. It is a world famous hill resort and is at a height of 2024 meter above sea level. It is perched on a beautiful plateau across which Jammu Srinagar highway passes. It comprises of several meadows enveloped by thick forests of Deodar and Kail. It is managed by Patnitop Development Authority (PDA). It was still drizzling. Then it started raining. Everyone of us put on the rain coats. We walked one km upto reach the camp. The trail leading to the camp was dotted with lofty trees on both sides. The camp comprised of the tents perched up a little ahead of the Patnitop youth Hostel building. The weather became foggy and windy. It became very cold. We were allotted tents. We put our ruck sacks in the tents and spread the blankets and sat inside tents waiting for the rain to stop. The camp leader was Mr.Yashpal Mehra (from R S Pura, Jammu. Cell : 09596696770). At about 12 o’clock, when the rain stopped, we ventured out of our tents. Walked down to the children park. Shawl shops and other shops there. Then we walked about 2 km to the Green Park (GP). It is a hustling bustling point with tourists thronging this place in large numbers enjoying eateries and horse riding. The vehicles were lined up on both sides of the road. We took breakfast in a restaurant just short of hotel holiday Inn. We looked for Kaladi (sort of cheese) but could not get it in any shop. We walked inside the Park upto the apple Garden. From there, we saw good view of the entire valley. Then we came down. There are stalls of tea, paan, fruit chaat, golgappe, chole kulche etc. We walked back to the camp. Reached back the camp at about 4.30 pm. We enjoyed tea and pakoras and enjoyed chat with Yashpal Mehra. He incidentally is also the supplier of cooks and ration at other camps in this prog. We then played cricket in the open ground between our camp and Youth hostel building. We played upto 7.30 pm and had to stop playing as it became dark.

The camp leader had 5 speaker set and audio system with him. We attached our mobile to his system and played songs at loud sound and danced. At 8.15 we took dinner. After dinner, we again danced on latest songs upto 10 pm at the demand of the kids participants. Thereafter, we played cards and then went to sleep at 11.30 pm.

2nd June 2011 Thursday : Patnitop to Mantalai via Gauri Kund & Shudh Mahadev

I could not sleep properly in the night as the sleeping bag was very thin and of poor quality. It did not warm up and I felt cold throughout the night. I got up at 5 am and went outside in the jungle to answer the call of nature. Brushed teeth and washed hands and mouth. I performed pranayam for about ½ hour in the lap of nature. At 8.45 am, we were served with breakfast : Biryani and paneer subzi.

At 9.45 am, we started our journey for today to reach the next camp at Mantalai. We were accompanied by guide Mohan Lal (volunteer of Panther Party). We walked through jungle to the Green Park. From there, we trekked down to the Nag mandir. It has its historical importance and tourists visiting Patnitop often visit this temple. We further trekked down, up and down to reach Gauri kund. There is a cave here. As per the local legend, goddess Parvati prayed here for hundreds of years to please Lord Shiva to marry her. Legend has it that she used to take bath in this kund. There is a small temple here. It is managed by J&K Trust, chaired by Dr. Karn singh (MP). I took bath in the kund and then wear new clothes. The water was cold. The Patnitop to Gauri Kund trek was about 8 km.

After taking bath, we resumed our trekking. We reached the road and walked about ½ km on the road. Spotted a snack point. Sat there and took cold drinks. We took a matador (mini bus) from there and got down 3 km away at Shudh Mahadev. The bus charged Rs.4/- per passenger from us. We did darshan of the temple. This temple also has mythological importance and is connected with lord shiva and goddess parvati. It is said that a bad man Shudhant was a devotee of lord shiva but he used to tease parvati. Parvati complained to shiva. Shiva threw his trishool to kill Shudhant who got killed. Shiva realised that he was his devotee. Shiva asked him to ask for any reward. Shudhant asked to connect his name to shiva. This is how this place was started being called as Shudh Mahadev. The trishool of shiva is still lying at this place. We took lunch in a dhaba there near bus stop. I, anshul ate fruits : mango and banana. We all waited for the bus to Mantalai to come.

At 5.30 pm, the bus came. We all boarded the bus for Mantalai. The mini bus driver was kind enough to drive from village Mantalai bus stand (last stop) to our camp about 1 km down drive. It was ½ hour drive from Shudh Mahadev. The Mantalai camp was in the ashram complex of the legendry Swami Dhirendra Brahmchari (DB) who got killed in an air crash here on 9th June 1994. He established world class Yoga Centre here and was establishing world class hospital and health resort before he died in a tragic air crash here. It is spread in 1002 kanal. We met the camp leader subhash chander (teacher, local from Mantalai), cook Arjun Rana (from Jammu) and his Assistant Kulbir. Also met Vijay here who was the camp leader at Sanasar. We were given a hall (carpeting done) which was supposed to be Yoga hall but could not take shape due to untimely death of DB. We were served with tea and pakoras. Mantalai is at a height of 1450 meter above sea level. Lord Shiva was married to Goddess Parvati at this place.

At 7 pm, the camp leader and others took us for a round of the entire complex. We walked through the complex. The building in which we dtayed in hall on ground floor is a 4 storeyed building plus basement. It had a reception area. There was a lawn and even a swimming pool in the complex. There was big apple orchid. We also saw decaying and rusting cars, jeeps, trucks, road roller, JCB. There was another 6 storey structure standing there. It contained the wreckage of the aeroplane in which DB died 17 years back. Another building was meant for housing the animals : cows, buffalos, horses. Another building for their feed. One building housed transformer, DG sets. One building was DB’s residence. At the end of the complex, we came to a point from where we could see the entire valley. Very beautiful picturesque view from there. There was good landscape all around. The name of DB’s organization was Aparna : Aparna Air Ltd., Aparna Centre for scientific Yoga. This place was called Aparna Ashram. Aparna is another name of goddess Parvati. We were told that DB was one man show. His org was not professionally managed. Nobody took over the ashram after him. It is lying almost closed. The prime property is getting wasted. It was very sad. Forest Deptt, PDA, Revenue Deptt and tourism deptt are locked in litigation to acquire this property. Nobody does anything to improve this place thinking it may go to the other. This complex is also used as a throughfare by the locals for going from one place to another. Two J&K police personnel are posted at the main entry gate of the Ashram.

At 8.30 pm. We were served with the dinner. Thereafter, we played cards and went to sleep at 11.45 pm.

3rd June 2011 Friday : Mantalai to Udhampur

I woke up at 6.30 am. The 7 kids and their teacher Vishwanand were getting ready to catch 7.30 bus to Udhampur. They took breakfast and at 7.15 am, they left to board the bus by walking about 1 km to the bus stand.

We got ready leisurely as the trek was practically over. The volunteer Mr.Vijay Kumar showed as the hall on 1st floor. It houses the rare photographs of Swami Dhirendra Bharamchari (DB) with his deciples and pupils doing asanas in this ashram several years back. It also contained old articles of DB. Even the log book of the Plane M-5 9in which he died) and its electronic parts / instruments were there in this hall. It was a very good experience. We were instantly transported into the old era when this place must be bubbling with energy. This is worthy of being converted into a museum. The photos showed that once this ashram was lively and hundreds of sadhaks and sadhikas used to throng this place, live here and do yoga.

At 10.10, ater getting freshen up, we started our journey from the Mantalai camp. We walked and climbed on a small hillock to reach the Air runway track which was used by DB for landing and taking off of his planes. From there, we walked for 10 min to reach the holy Talab (Talai, in local language). In took dip in this holy water source. As per locals, Shiv Puran says that unless you take dip in this talab, your 4 dham yatra is not successful. I did darshan in the adjoining temple. We all relaxed under the tin shed sitting on beautiful benches. Mantalai is also managed by PDA.

At 11.30 am, we reached Mantalai bus stand. The beauty of this place is that from here one can see the bus coming which is actually 4-5 km away. You can even hearn the horn when the vehicle is actually 4-5 km away. This is because it’s a zigzag route in the valley. We can even see Shudh Mahadev temple from here. We waited in a small shop for the bus as it was hot and sunny outside.

At 12.30 am, the bus came. The bus are very scarce here. The bus was proceeding to Udhampur. It took its route via Shudh Mahadev (bus waited here for 20 min) and Cheneni (a bustling town here). The bus charged Rs.35/- per person from Mantalai to Udhampur.

At 3.30 pm, we reached Udhampur and got down at ARTO near our base camp. Relaxed in the base camp. Met Shri KK Gandotra, Balwan singh (Secy, YHAI, J&K), Vishal sharma. Also met 2 participants of the new group leaving tomorrow : Mr. Naphade (from Nasik) and Ms. Maanavi chauhan (from Mathura). Sat with them and enjoyed tea and pakoras.

We also called Vishwnand (who lives nearby) and at 6 pm he, me, anshul, Shubendu and Sudhir Bagade went to see the movie “READY” (starring Salman khan) released today, at Raj Theatre (Kamal rested at the base camp). We enjoyed the movie. After the movie, we walked through the market and took dinner in a good dhaba. I get shave in a saloon in the market. We walked our way to the base camp and reached at the camp at about 10.15 pm. At 11.15 pm, we went to sleep. We used the matterresses for sleeping in the hall.

4th June 2011 Saturday

We woke up at 6 am. At 7.30 am, Sudhir Bagade boarded bus for Udhampur because he has his train for Mumbai from Jammu at about 11.30 am. We accompanied him to the bus stand and see him off. I took bath and got ready. Took tea and biscuits. Shhubendu’s flight was on Tuesday 7th Junr from Delhi to Bangalore and he still had 3 days left. I suggested to him to go with the new group to Pancheri and Sankri Devta as he could not enjoy this route earlier due to darkness.

At 9.45 am, the new group (Group No.23) led by Maanavi and Naphade with 7-8 school children boarded bus for Pancheri from road outside Base camp. I, Anshul and shibendu also boarded same bus. Udhampur to Pancheri is about 37 km distance. After ½ hour, I and anshul got down on the way at Krimchi village to see the PAndava temples. One should not get down at Krimchi village bus stand. Rather, one should get down further after about 1 km from the village after crossing the forest deptt check post near a ASI board showing arrow towards Pandava temples. These temples are about 1 km on right hand side off the road. We walked to the said temples. This is a protected monument under the control of Archelogical Survey of India (www.asi.nic.in). According to legendry accounts, Raja Kichak of Mahabharta period was the creator of the town Krimchi and the kingdom and the pandavas while in exile remained there for a long period. There was no other tourist there other than we two. It was hot and sunny out there.

We walked back to the road. At about 12.15 pm, we caught a matador (mini bus) from there and got down at Udhampur near our base camp. We walked to the Singh Restaurant on the main road itself. I, anshul took breakfast/lunch and tea. It was a AC restaurant. We heaved a sigh of relief as it was very hot outside. We rested there till 2 pm. Then we walked to the bus stand to go to the ISKCON temple but could not locate it. Already feeling the brunt of the sun heat, we decided to return to the camp. Accordingly, we reached back the camp at 2.45 pm. We rested there. We took our Trek Certificates from Mr. Vikas sharma. A new grouo of school children was already there to go on trek tomorrow.

At 5.20 pm, I checked status of our train tickets. 2 out of 3 seats were confirmed thanks to my friend in the ministry. This was great news and a great relief. We hired an autorickshaw from there and reached Udhampur Railway station at 6 pm. Our berths were no.25 and 28 in Coach B1.

At 7.05 pm, the train started.

At 6.05 am, the next morning i.e. on 5th June 2011 Sunday, our train finished its journey at New Delhi Railway station. From there, we hired an auto and reached our homes at 7 am.

…. And in this manner another trek came to an end.

The author has done several treks in the past including the following :

1.Sar Pass (1991 & 1998) (YHAI)

2. Dalhousie (YHAI)

3. Nainital (YHAI)

4. Pindari Glacier (2001) (self, with CEC)

5. Goa trek (Dec 2004) (YHAI)

6. Chandrashila (June 2006) (Self)

7. Leh Ladhakh (November 2006) (self)

8. Jaisalmer trek, Rajasthan (November 2007) (YHAI)

9. Munnar trek, Kerala (January 2008) (YHAI)

10. Kedarkanth trek (Valley of Flowers) (June 2008) (YHAI)

11. Sandakphu trek (Darjeeling) (November 2009) (YHAI)

The author can be reached at :

Sunil Goel

38/7 East Punjabi Bagh, New Delhi – 110026 India

Email : sunilgoel@rediffmail.com cell : 09810215488

Hindi Movie ‘Thank You’ being released on 8th April 2011 survived court case

On 4th April 2011, the Delhi High Court (Justice Gita Mittal) restrained cable operators nationwide from distributing, telecasting and broadcasting the movie ‘Thank you’ and/or otherwise infringing the copyright. The Case Suit No.821/2011 was filed by UTV Software Communications Limited. The order restricts 1,600 known cable operators and unknown persons also from telecasting the film. The SHO/superintendent of concerned police stations have also been directed to render assistance to UTV for the purpose of enforcement of the order.

It is to be noted that Piracy has been plaguing the entertainment industry for decades and is one of the biggest impediments to the growth of the business. Film piracy has reached gargantuan proportions, causing tremendous leakage in revenues of film producers. Cable operators have been exploiting the movie industry by illegally screening films on their networks almost immediately after theatrical release of a film. This decision by the Delhi High Court is a milestone judgment in tackling piracy and is expected to be a huge deterrent to cable piracy. The court's decision to grant pre-emptive relief from piracy to a plaintiff is being considered an important step forward in the ongoing battle against copyright infringement.

The film, directed by Anees Bazmee, has been produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Hari Om Productions. Releasing Friday 8th April 2011, "Thank You" stars Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, Suniel Shetty, Irrfan Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Celina Jaitly and Rimmi Sen.

In another case (Suit No. 850/2011) filed by Bollywood music composer Anandji Virji Shah, the Delhi High Court (Justice Sunil Gaur) on 6.4.2011 declined to grant a stay on the release of Akshay Kumar-starrer movie. But he sought a response from the film producer. In the civil suit, the music composer has said the re-mix version of the song 'Pyaar do pyaar lo' from the movie 'Jaanbaaz', released in early eighties, has been used in the Anees Bazmee-directed movie 'Thank You' without obtaining his permission.

This is a blog dedicated to the cases pertaining to the Bollywood movies and artists. Watch out this space every week for latest updates. Sunil Goel advocateB.Sc. L.Lb L.Lm